County Settles With Terminal Site Tenant

December 11, 1985|By Fred Lowery, Transportation Writer

Construction of a new terminal at Palm Beach International Airport moved a step closer Tuesday when county commissioners agreed to a $3.05 million settlement with the last tenant remaining on the terminal site.

Butler Aviation, a longtime airport tenant, agreed to let the county take over the property it occupies on the north side of the airport, ending the possibility of a condemnation suit and the potential of up to a year`s delay in getting the terminal started.

Construction is scheduled to begin in March.

Under terms of the settlement, the county will pay Butler $900,000 in cash immediately and another $900,000 when Butler completes its move to the south side of the airport.

Money for the settlement will come from airport construction funds set aside for terminal site development. No general tax funds are being used for the airport development project.

The remaining $1.25 million will be paid to Butler over 20 years in the form of rental credits beginning in 1989, a year after the new terminal opens.

In addition, the airport and Butler are negotiating a 20-year lease on the former Beckett Aviation property, which also will carry a five-year option for renewal.

Bruce Pelly, acting airports director, told commissioners the bulk of the settlement is for dislocation of Butler`s business, which the firm has estimated to be worth more than $3.4 million alone.

The land and buildings, valued at $1.4 million, were under two separate leases to Butler, one expiring at the end of 1989 and the other in November of 1997.

``With this settlement, we are getting buildings that wouldn`t revert to us until the end of the (lease) agreement,`` Pelly told commissioners.

To make way for the terminal, Butler recently purchased Beckett from CSX, the railroad giant. Beckett operates on the Southern Boulevard side of the airport, and the two operations will merge into a single center.

In a related matter, commissioners delayed a decision until next month on a proposal by Commissioner Jerry Owens to require workers on the new terminal project to be at least certified apprentices with four years of training in a recognized apprenticeship program.

The proposal, which includes all future county construction projects, was attacked by contractors Tuesday as being blatantly pro-union and an attempt to keep non-union workers away from the $90 million terminal project.

Owens, however, said it was an attempt to insure that only qualified workers were on the job in order to give the county the best quality work available, as well as giving local workers a better opportunity to work on the project.

IN OTHER ACTION

The Palm Beach County Commission:

(BU) Tentatively allocated $2.6 million in tax-free industrial revenue bonds to pay for construction of a catering service at the Palm Beach International Airport by the Marriott Corp.

(BU) Allocated $5.6 million in tax-free industrial revenue bonds to pay for a nursing home facility which is to be built and operated by the Helen Wilkes Corp.

(BU) Allocated $6 million in tax-free industrial revenue bonds for construction of a health care facility in West Palm Beach by Florida Convalescent Centers, Inc.

(BU) Tentatively allocated $3 million in tax-free industrial revenue bonds to the Milton Roy Co. to pay for construction of a facility to manufacture and assemble analytical laboratory equipment.

(BU) Refused to join other Florida counties in taking a stand on proposed changes to the Marketable Record Title Act, a law which state legislators and Gov. Bob Graham have argued could strip Florida of ownership of the land beneath almost 3,000 lakes and 5,000 miles of rivers.